...the law between killing and letting die which was based on the principle of double effect. He argued that if we allow passive euthanasia, we should also allow active euthanasia because it is more humane and that there is really no moral difference between the two. In my paper I have chosen two questions to answer concerning the article written by James Rachels. Rachels offers two principal arguments against the distinction between active and passive euthanasia. What are these arguments? Passive euthanasia is when the doctor does not do anything to bring about the patient’s death because the patient ends up dying at whatever illness they may have. While active euthanasia is when the doctor does something to bring about the patient’s death, for example, the doctor gives a patient with cancer a lethal injection which causes the death of the patient. Rachels claims that "killing is not itself any worse than letting die." What support does he offer for this claim? Do you agree? Why or why not? Rachel argues that there really isn’t a moral difference between the two because many believe that killing someone is morally worse than letting someone die. That’s why he asked the question “Is killing, in itself, worse than letting die?” He argues that killing is not nor any worse than letting someone die, therefore active euthanasia is not any worse than passive euthanasia. He also makes the point that passive euthanasia which is the process in which a person is allowed to die can take some...
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...Over decades, ethical dilemmas like The Trolley or The Transplant have been discussed in great details by philosophers. Different schools of thoughts offer various arguments to whether it is morally right or wrong to kill or let die. In the example of the Transplant whereby a doctor has to choose to kill one healthy person to save five sick patients or let the five die, it is morally impermissible to kill the one person. According to Utilitarianism, an action is ethical if it maximizes the happiness for the greatest number of people (Rowe). Hence, the doctor should kill the one person to save the five people who would die imminently without a transplant. If the healthy person gives the doctor his or her consent to donate the organs to other...
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...Question 2. Question : If the Ring of Gyges really existed, Student Answer: Just people would use it for justice. Just people would not use it at all. Unjust people would use it differently than just people. Everyone would use it the same. Instructor Explanation: The answer can be found in “Gyges’ Ring” from Plato’s Republic. Points Received: 1 of 1 Comments: Question 3. Question : Rachels claims that once it has been decided that euthanasia is desirable in a case: Student Answer: a moral error has already been made. it has been decided that death is no greater an evil than the patient’s continued existence. it has been decided that the patient does not have a right to life. the amount of suffering of the patient becomes irrelevant. Instructor Explanation: The answer can be found in the article “Active and Passive Euthanasia” Points Received: 1 of 1 Comments: Question 4. Question : According to the videos, in which is it legal to commit assisted suicide? Student Answer: Canada Mexico Germany Switzerland Instructor Explanation: The answer can be found in the video “Right to Die, Assisted Suicide, Euthanasia Part 1 5” Points Received: 1 of 1 Comments:...
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...utilizes the analogy of the unconscious violinist to show that a pregnant mother, who did not chose to be in that situation, has no obligation to care for the life of the fetus against her will. This analogy tells of a person who is kidnapped and, upon waking, finds herself attached to medical equipment and lying next to a famous violinist. The violinist’s kidneys have failed him and aren’t able to remove toxins from his body, so they needed her, the one person with the right type of blood, to save the violinist. The doctor states how it was a terrible thing to be kidnapped and forced against her will, but the fact remains that she cannot leave for nine months because that would kill the famous violinist; it would be “Immoral” to let him die. Thomson argues that the same could be held for a woman who gets pregnant without meaning or wanting to. It would be a “Good Samaritan” act, but it is not required of her...
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... | |Lisa Rohn | |10/20/2010 | |Euthanasia is a highly controversial topic among many political and religious groups. The purpose of this project is to detail the facts of | |Euthanasia and to list the pros and cons surrounding the topic. Euthanasia is prohibited in the United States. However I will show that | |patients practice forms of this “mercy killing” legally each day while exercising their right to die. This project will list guidelines in | |which Euthanasia should be legalized and give arguments as to why the decision should be the sole right of the suffering individual. | Imagine that your mother is terminally ill with stomach cancer and will, according to the doctors, live the rest of her life in excruciating pain. Her quality of life will be significantly diminished and she will be on strong medications, which will at times render her unconscious and unable to function just to help control the pain for the remaining part of her life. Imagine your son was in a terrible car accident,...
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...1. Question What is the difference between active and passive euthanasia and is one form better or worse than the other when it comes to ending someone’s life? 2. Introduction There are a few differences between active and passive euthanasia. Active euthanasia involves assisting someone that is dying so they die quicker and painlessly. Whereas, passive euthanasia involves letting someone that is sick die by not prolonging their life with medication. It does not involve “killing” them, but instead letting their ailment take them more slowly. Is one of these methods more humane than the other when someone is dying? Is it more acceptable to let someone suffer for a longer period of time? Or would it be better to assist someone that is dying to end his or her life with dignity? 3. Position Statement Someone that is ready to die should be allowed to chance to die with dignity and with active euthanasia, as long as they are in the right frame of mind to make that decision. 4. Supporting Reason Allowing someone that is terminally ill or dying to die with dignity gives respect to the person in his or her last days. If someone is dying and they want to end their life, and not suffer, they should be allowed to have help from doctors to make that decision. The alternative would be to have them suffer for the remainder of their days, waiting for their time to die. This can cause depression and feelings of hopelessness. Not a good way to spend ones last days. 5...
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...Voluntary Euthanasia According to the Philosopher Helga Kuhse, she writes that 'Euthanasia' is a compound of two Greek words - eu and Thanatos. These words literally mean “a good death”. Today, 'euthanasia' is generally understood to mean the bringing about of a good death - 'mercy killing,' where one person, A, ends the life of another person, B, for the sake of B." Euthanasia is putting to death of a very sick person's life in order to alleviate them from their agony. A person that usually request for euthanasia services has an untreatable condition but there are special cases where some people want their life to end. In many situation, it is implemented when the patient ask for it but there are occasions when the patients is too ill and cannot make the decision themselves but the requests is made by relatives, medics or, in some instances, the courts. The country of United Kingdom’s law is against the practice of euthanasia and it is illegal to help anyone kill him or herself. The punishment of euthanasia can lead to detention of up to 14 years. This issue has been at the centre of very intense debates for many years and is surrounded by religious, ethical and practical considerations. Euthanasia have different categorize which include voluntary, non-voluntary, or involuntary. Voluntary euthanasia is lawful in some countries such as United States Of America and Canadian Provinces. Non-voluntary euthanasia is banned in all countries because it is considered a murder...
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...that are worse off. In that, through means of drawing a parallel, in terms of a metaphor; she likens the earth to a lifeboat with limited resources, adrift at sea....
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...Midterm Study Guide Midterm: March 6th • • • Make sure to bring a pen to class. The midterm will have 15 multiple-choice questions, and 2 short-answer questions. Make sure to read the whole question before answering. The short-answer questions have multiple parts. Make sure to fully answer every part of the question. The Midterm covers all the material discussed in class so far. What you need to know: Logic • • • You should know what the following are: proposition, argument, premise, conclusion, circular argument, conditional statement, antecedent, consequent. You should be able to give precise definitions of validity and soundness, and be able to evaluate whether an argument is valid or sound. You should be able to recognize the following forms of an argument, and know whether they are valid: Affirming the Antecedent (Modus Ponens), Denying the Consequent (Modus Tollens), Denying the Antecedent, and Affirming the Consequent. Ethics • • • • • • • You should know what the following words mean: ethics, right, wrong, permissible, obligatory, impermissible. You should know the difference between ethics and axiology, and the difference between ethics and law. You should understand: Ethical Relativism, Personal Relativism, and Cultural Relativism. o You should understand the objections to these views that we discussed in class. o You should understand and be able to assess the Cultural Differences Argument and the Provability...
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...“always morally worse to kill than it is to let die”. It will be argued that passive euthanasia (i.e. letting someone die) is not morally wrong and that active euthanasia (i.e. accelerating their death) is no less moral. However, the many complications associated with the legalisation of active euthanasia (and euthanasia in general) must be identified and addressed. These identified complications may be eliminated with an appropriate regulatory regime. Assuming that identified complications can be overcome, and having established that it is not always morally worse to kill than to let die, it will be demonstrated that active euthanasia should not be banned. Morality, as defined by the Oxford Dictionary, is “principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behaviour”1. Hinde states that the principles are influenced and changed by one’s society and culture but also “based in human nature”2. As morality is influenced by society, public opinion is important when it comes to controversial issues. Morality differs from place to place and evolves over time. To compound this diversity, changes in medical treatment, and discoveries which enhance medical knowledge evolves rapidly and what was not even conceivable in some cultures or at certain points in history are now commonly accepted. Developments in end of life care fall within this category. With our increased ability to prolong life, arguments can now be made in favour of moral killings. Similarly, since...
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...Abstract Euthanasia is intentionally making someone die, rather than allowing that person to die naturally. The positive side of Euthanasia is that it ends a person’s suffering in this world; it is often called “mercy killing”. Many physicians and psychiatrists believe that it is a humane act; from an ethics point of view, it may be appropriate. What we seek in human existence is to be happy, pain free, and find happiness. Suffering from a terminal illness, or affliction, could hamper one’s happiness in life. If the goal is to be happy, then Euthanasia would be an answer for a person. Euthanasia may even bring about happiness in that it is what the person desires and wants, in order to no longer be a burden to his/her family. Also, Euthanasia would stop the pain and not prolong the dying process. Euthanasia has become an issue of increasing attention because of Dr. Jack Kevorkian's assisted suicides. Dr Kevorkian assisted in at least one hundred and thirty one suicides. The number of suicides in Michigan increased, prompting the Governor to sign an anti-suicide law that made doctor-assisted suicides a felony. During the 21-month trial period of the new law anyone assisting in a suicide can be sentenced to up to four years in prison and fined more than $2,000 (Reuters, 1993). With the passing of the law one would think that most people would be against the right-to-die, not so. In a poll cited in a 1991 issue of USA Today eighty percent of Americans think sometimes...
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...Legalization of voluntary active euthanasia and assisted suicide is a highly controversial topic that involves the consideration of morals and ethics as well as possibility of both negative and positive side effects of the procedure. The main argument for those that support legalization of active euthanasia mainly relates to self-determination in which he or she makes decisions based on what they think is best for themselves. They often relate back to attempting to eliminate the distinction between "allowing to die" and causing death by active euthanasia. Relating to the article by Dan W. Brock, I will argue that that the reasons given by him are problematic because of the fact there is a distinction between allowing to die and active euthanasia, is morally wrong, and can have several side effects of legalization of active euthanasia. Brock begins his point by giving the two central arguments that are for voluntary active euthanasia - the first one being self-determination in which he stresses is an important idea behind human dignity. He states that the rationale of allowing the right to refuse life-sustaining treatment also stands true for support of active euthanasia and reason the self-determination should also extend to controlling "the manner, circumstances, and timing of their dying and death" (Brock 166). The second reason he gives for voluntary active euthanasia is individual well-being and reasons that when a person considers living any longer as harm instead of...
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...painlessly or allowing to die by withholding extreme medical measures, a person or animal suffering form an unbearable suffering disease or condition. Euthanasia, also known as assisted suicide, physician-assisted suicide, doctor-assisted and more loosely termed mercy killing, basically means to take a deliberate action with the express intention of ending a life to relieve intractable suffering. Some interpret euthanasia as the practice of ending a life in a painless manner. Many disagree with this interpretation. There are two types of euthanasia passive and euthanasia. Passive euthanasia is when life-sustaining treatments are withheld. The definition of passive euthanasia is often not clear cut. For example, if a doctor prescribes increasing doses of strong painkilling medications which may eventually be toxic for the patient, some may argue whether passive euthanasia is taking place - in most cases, the doctor's measure is seen as a passive one. Many claim that the term is wrong, because euthanasia has not taken place, and there is no intention to take life. Active euthanasia is lethal substances or forces that are used to end the patient's life. Active euthanasia includes life-ending actions conducted by the patient or somebody else. Passive is "letting a person die", and active is giving them a lethal injection. Personally I think that sometimes passive euthanasia is worse than active. For example the doctor may say a person is terminal and will die soon if the person has...
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...patients and families in the health care setting. One of which is end of life care. Decision making in terminal care is a demanding and stressful duty for all involved that can take place in any setting in which patients die in hospitals, nursing homes, hospices, and at home. For people reaching and the end of life, continuing to suffer may appear worse than death. The suffering can be so great that the option of ending one’s life through either euthanasia or physician assisted suicide may appear to be a reasonable and merciful choice. “Euthanasia is an act where a third party, usually implied to be a physician, terminates the life of a person; either passively or actively. 14 Euthanasia is also defined as “the mercy killing of the hopelessly ill, injured or incapacitated.” (Athar, 2006). Active euthanasia requires performing some action that terminates the life of a person. An example of an active euthanasia intervention would be a situation where a physician would inject a patient with a lethal dose of a drug.14 In cases of voluntary, active euthanasia, a competent patient who wishes to avoid suffering and a slow dying process asks a physician to terminate his or her life. The concept of “death with dignity” or allowing patients to retain dignity as they die is a popular argument among those who support active euthanasia.14 Proponents of euthanasia basically build their position on two reasons: the first is self determination and respect for human autonomy, and the second...
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...Active Voluntary Euthanasia Active voluntary euthanasia can be considered a number of things, whether it is suicide or physician assisted suicide. Throughout this class, we have discussed various articles that dig into this issue and that I will be using in this paper to demonstrate what is accepted, and what is not by some of society’s leading scholars. Also, I will insert my own input to these views and offer more insight on what I believe is reasonable when it comes to active voluntary euthanasia. To begin, I will start off with Immanuel Kant’s article, “The Morality of Suicide.” Kant first discusses his views on people’s obligations to their own bodies. He talks about the right of freedom that we are all given, and that this freedom is to be used so as to protect life in a way. He argues that using freedom in ways that “abolish life” is “producing lifelessness,” and is therefore “self-contradictory” (385). To sum this part up, Kant believes that human beings should not “have the power to dispose of” their lives (385). After establishing his thoughts in this region, he moved on to that of suicide, which is his almost entirely against. He first comes across the argument saying that suicide is acceptable because “man is a free agent” (385). He counters this argument by explaining that yes man is a free agent, but that we are free to the point of “self-preservation” (385). To me, this means that we do things in life by our own choice, but usually these choices are made...
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